Fox Botches Report On Decision To Uphold Early Voting In Ohio

Just minutes after the Supreme Court ruled to allow early voting in Ohio the weekend before Election Day, Fox News host Jon Scott falsely claimed that the Obama campaign sought to stop military families from early voting in the state. Scott further botched the state's early voting history when he claimed that Democrats sought to limit early voting when in fact, it was Republicans.

The real story is that Ohio expanded early voting in 2008 and 2010 in response to long wait times for thousands of voters during the 2004 election. But last year, the Republican-controlled legislature eliminated in-person voting during the three days before the election for everyone but military families and overseas voters.

In response, the Obama campaign and other Democrats filed a lawsuit seeking to restore early voting for all Ohioans. Today, the Supreme Court let stand a ruling that sided with the Obama campaign.

Scott's rendition of these events conflicts with reality and ignores the role Republicans played to limit early voting:

SCOTT: Ohio's voting laws are going to be changing, it would appear. There was an early voting program voted in by the state of Ohio for military members and their families. They were to be allowed to vote early. The Democrats and the Obama campaign asked that that be blocked. They, for whatever reason, did not want military families and military members voting extra early. A couple of lower courts blocked the law -- again, at the request of the Obama campaign and state Democratic officials. Now it's gone to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court is going along with that block. According to our Shannon Bream, who covers the Supreme Court for us, we believe that is what is going to result from all of this is that everybody in Ohio is going to be allowed extra-early voting. No special privileges for military members and their families.